Young women skip meals so they can save calories for drinking Experts found one in four female students reduce what they eat to 'make room' for alcohol calories Dangerous behaviour can lead to organ damage and long-term cognitive problems

Young women are putting their health at risk by cutting calories from food in order to binge drink, experts have warned. The phenomenon known as ‘drunkorexia’ is most common among university students faced with the conflicting pressures of heavy drinking and staying slim. Knowing they are going to have to drink to fit in but not wanting to put on any weight, they will skip meals before a night of heavy drinking.U.S. researchers at the University of Missouri who questioned college student found 16 per cent of those surveyed reported restricting calories to 'save them' for drinking.But the practice is three times more common among women than men, with women reporting they want to lose weight and spend less money getting drunk. Victoria Osborne, assistant professor of social work and public health said the practice was a toxic combination causing physical and mental damage and putting women at risk of alcoholism.She said: ‘Apart from each other depriving the brain of adequate nutrition and consuming large amounts of alcohol can be dangerous.Together, they can cause short- and long-term cognitive problems including difficulty concentrating, studying and making decisions. She added that women metabolise alcohol in a different way to men which makes them more susceptible to damage to their vital organs. Combining starvation and binge drinking puts young women at risk of developing more serious eating disorders or alcohol abuse problems, as well as in danger of alcohol poisoning, risky sexual behaviour and chronic diseases in later life, the researchers said. The problem has been documented in American universities but it is feared to be becoming worse in Britain with young women feeling pressure to drink heavily yet stay slim. However lack of food in their system ensures they get drunk quicker and raises the risk of them passing out with all the dangers that entails. Denying themselves two biscuits would allow them to drink three vodka and diet colas without fear of putting on weight, while skipping the 700 calories of spaghetti bolognese gives them the freedom to indulge in four or five alcopops. More than a million Britons suffer from eating disorders, with women between 14 and 25 at greatest risk. In serious cases they can be fatal. Recent studies have shown links between eating disorders and alcohol abuse, with up to a third of bulimics struggling with alcohol or drugs and 36 per cent of women receiving treatment for alcohol abuse also confessing to eating problems. Susan Ringwood, Chief Executive of the charity B-eat, formerly the Eating Disorders Association said: ‘We know that some people with eating disorders, especially bulimia nervosa can also have an unhealthy consumption of alcohol. ‘This study does point out the serious effects on our brains of excessive drinking, and too many people are unaware of the high calorie content of alcohol- sometimes feeling that it ‘doesn’t count’ as calorie intake.’‘We also know how important it is that all eating disorders are taken seriously - they can be deadly, and claim more lives than any other mental illness.’

Let me ask you what is eating healthy then? How can you be sure it is "healthy"? If you don´t grow your own food, really, how can you tell how much round up was used to produce your broccoli or lettuce?

Let me ask you what is eating healthy then? How can you be sure it is "healthy"? If you don´t grow your own food, really, how can you tell how much round up was used to produce your broccoli or lettuce?